Worry often consumes our lives— even though most of what we worry about never actually happens. Worry doesn’t add anything to our lives; it only steals our peace and joy! Pastor Jeremy unpacks three truths that will help you stop worrying and start trusting in God, no matter what you’re facing.
Notes 📓✏️:
How do we live a life that is not controlled by worry?
A few years ago, psychologists tracked what people actually worry about.
Here’s what they found:
- 40% never happens (“What if?”)
- 30% already happened (“If I would have.”)
- 12% is what people think (“What is their opinion?”)
- 10% is health fears that don’t materialize (“I Googled it.”)
- Only about 8% is real and actionable.
Most of what we carry is not something we can control or is even real.
But we carry it anyway.
Why?
Because we care.
Jesus said it this way…
“Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?”
Luke 12:25 (NLT)
Worry is a thief!
The word “Worry” comes from the Old English “Wyrgan.”
It means…
“To Strangle”
“To Choke”
“To Seize by the Neck”
You can choose what you care about… and how you carry it.
1. Worry reveals what you care about.
You worry about what you value.
Where your heart goes… your worry follows.
I spoke on the story of Martha a few weeks ago and this is a perfect example of worry…
Jesus: “You are worried and upset about many things.”
Worry is care that’s out of place and out of proportion.
2. Worry can make you drift into panic.
We worry because we interpret our circumstances without the right anchors.
Jesus said: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
No anchors → care becomes worry, and we drift into panic.
The right anchors → care becomes hope.
Three anchors for your care.
Anchor #1: A Realistic Outlook – “You will have trouble.”
Jesus never promised a smooth life. He promised His steady presence.
Anchor #2: An Accurate View of God – “I have overcome the world.”
God is in control, even when you feel like life is out of control.
Worry begins where trust ends.
Peace comes when you remember: “God is in control…and I am not.”
Anchor #3: A Faith-Filled Hope – “Take Heart”
Your life moves in the direction of your strongest expectation.
3. Anchor Your Care
Care that is unanchored becomes worry and drifts into panic.
Worry is drift. Hope is anchored.
Discussion Questions 📝❓:
- Pastor Jeremy shared statistics about what people worry about, with only 8% being real and actionable. How does this insight change you perspective on your current worries?
- Jesus said in Luke 12:25, “Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” How does worrying actually subtract from rather than add to our lives?
- The sermon discusses three anchors for our care: realistic outlook, accurate view of God, and faith-filled hope. Which of these anchors do you find most challenging to maintain and why?
- Pastor Jeremy uses the analogy of a man carrying a heavy backpack on a train to illustrate unnecessary burden-bearing. How does this relate to our tendency to carry worries God is already carrying?